Mohawk beats Cathedral 3-2 in 2OT

Cathedral's Christa Mole, left, and Mohawk's Morgan Mazanec battle for the ball in the first half of Mohawk's 3-2, double overtime win in the Western Mass. Division II semifinals at Mount Holyoke College. (The Republican photo by Don Treeger)

SOUTH HADLEY - The Cathedral High School field hockey team scored the goals at the end of regulation, but Mohawk Trail Regional banged in the one in overtime.

Kesheal Henderson, one of the fastest players in the region, scored on a breakaway four minutes into the second sudden death overtime as Mohawk defeated Cathedral 3-2 in a Western Massachusetts Division II semifinal thriller at Mount Holyoke College.

"We were nervous, but we fought," Mohawk senior midfielder Molly Merrigan said. "We played as a team. We had our ups and downs but we fought until we won."

Top-seeded Mohawk (15-2-2) will face Tuesday night's Smith Academy-Frontier Regional winner Saturday at 1 p.m. in the final. No. 4 Cathedral, trying to reach the championship for the first time in the program's history, finished 9-7-4.

Henderson scored following a great upfield pass from Alina Schmidt on the left. Henderson broke in on Cathedral goalie Catherine Wrinkle. The two players collided, but not before Henderson got off a shot that banged into the back of the goal.

"I just wanted to score," said Henderson, a junior forward. "I blanked out. I just wanted that goal. I didn't want to lose."

Aurora Rougeau and Nina Christensen scored in the second half to put coach Lynn Hoeppner's team ahead 2-0.

The Panthers, though, never quit, with Taylor Ledwith scoring twice in the final six minutes of regulation to force overtime.

"We played a great game," Cathedral coach Kerri Sullivan said. "We played with a lot of heart. We came back from 2-0 to come back. I just wish it would have gone in our favor. It was a great game and I'm proud of all of them - proud of all the seniors. We have nothing to be ashamed of. We left it all on the field."